Game Summary – The Cubs, looking for their first win after three exhibition losses, start ace Greg Maddux against the Houston Astros and Mark Portugal in this 1992 simulated game.

1st Inning – The Astros go down 1-2-3. Shawon Dunston walks for the Cubs but is stranded at first.

2nd Inning – The Astros go down 1-2-3. Mark Grace scores on a Dwight Smith single after a lead-off triple.

3rd Inning – The Astros go down 1-2-3. Greg Maddux looks dominating after the first time through the Astros order. The Cubs go down 1-2-3 and Mark Portugal has his first clean inning.

4th Inning – The Astros break up the perfect game when Greg Young walks. He steals second after he’s unable to advance on a Steve Finley fly ball and is stranded at second after the next two batters pop fly out. The Cubs go down 1-2-3. Mark Portugal is looking more comfortable on the mound.

5th Inning – The Astros go down 1-2-3 and strike out twice. The Cubs strike out twice too before Greg Maddux scoots a single through the infield. He’s stranded at first when Sammy Sosa grounds out to short.

6th Inning – The Astros tie the game when Cedeno leads off with a walk and scores on a Greg Young double. Young ends the inning when he’s caught trying to steal third. The Cubs take the lead when Ryan Sandberg gets a hold of one and launches a homerun out to Waveland Ave.

7th Inning – The Astros go down 1-2-3. Greg Maddux is lifted for a pinch hitter after catcher Rick Wilkins get on board with a single. Pinch hitter Kal Daniels walks and the bases are loaded when Sammy Sosa reaches first when Cedeno bobbles a ground ball for the only error of the game (a CD-chart miscue by the defense). But all three runners are stranded when Dunston lines out hard to first. A spectacular catch by Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell that saves a run or more.

8th Inning – Tanbeusea hits a double but is stranded at second after a ground out and a strike out. Ryan Sandberg leads off with his second hit of the game, a single, but is picked off when he gets greedy with his lead.

9th Inning – As the Cubs are wont to do, the team does its best to blow the lead in the ninth inning. Greg Young draws a lead-off walk and, in a controversial decision, is held at third when Steve Finley doubles. The third base coach decides to hold the runner there and play it safe since there’s no outs. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, closer Dave Smith delivers a huge strike out of Craig Biggio. Jeff Bagwell lines out to the third, failing to advance the runners. Dave Smith literally saves the game when he snags a ball hit sharply right back at him from Ken Caminiti, ending the game.

Postgame – The Astros are doomed when the heart of their order is held hitless the entire game. Greg Maddux delivers a dominating performance and the bull pen holds onto the lead, preserving his Win. Ryan Sandberg is named MVP of the game for his game-winning shot in the sixth.

I picked up the third edition of Statis Pro Baseball at a thrift store last month for a buck. It was complete and came with the complete 1992 season unpunched. I've played a few games since then figuring out the intricacies of the rules, always with my team, the Cubs, falling onto the side of the losing effort. This is the first time I kept a box score while playing, so I thought it would be fun to share it as a session report. Unfortunately, it seems the bbg system didn't keep my formatting, which looked really sharp and professional in a Word document.